Trends in Titanium Materials For The Automotive Industry

Reducing fuel consumption and reducing hazardous waste (CO2, NOX, etc.) emissions has become one of the main driving forces and directions for technological progress in the automotive industry. Studies have shown that lightweighting is an effective measure to achieve fuel savings and pollution reduction. For every 10% reduction in automobile mass, fuel consumption can be reduced by 8%-10%, and exhaust emissions can be reduced by 10%. In terms of driving, vehicle acceleration performance is improved after lightweighting, and vehicle handling stability, noise and vibration are also improved. From the point of view of collision safety, after lightweighting of the car, the inertia is small during the collision, and the braking distance is reduced.

Titanium for Automobiles

The preferred way to reduce the weight of automobiles is to use aluminum, magnesium, titanium and other lightweight materials with high specific strength to replace the traditional automotive materials (steel). 2009, the global automotive titanium consumption reached 3,000 tons. Titanium has been used in racing cars for many years. Almost all cars today use titanium. In Japan, more than 600 tons of titanium are used in automobiles. With the development of the global automobile industry, the use of titanium in automobiles is rapidly increasing.

Advantages of using titanium in automobiles include: lighter weight and lower fuel consumption; improved power transmission and reduced noise; reduced vibration and lighter component loads; improved vehicle durability and environmental protection.